Music Wins Festival: Massive Attack returns to Argentina after 15 years

The most iconic duo to emerge from Bristol, Massive Attack, is coming back to Buenos Aires after 15 years. On November 2nd, they’ll take the stage at Mandarine Park as part of the Music Wins Festival 2025 (Argentina’s most beloved indie music festival), promising a comeback that will go down in history. If you’re a fan, you already know you can’t miss it. And if you haven’t yet dived into their dark and magnetic world, these 10 key facts will give you the push.

Also read: Music Wins returns, the festival that redefined how we live music in Buenos Aires

1. They invented trip hop

Massive Attack are the godfathers of the sound that fuses dub, hip-hop, funk, and soul with a shadowy aura. It all began with The Wild Bunch, a collective of DJs and artists that later evolved into the band.

2. Daddy G lit the spark

Grantley Marshall, a.k.a. Daddy G, was one of the youngest DJs in Bristol’s underground scene in the ‘80s. With him, what we now know as the famous “Bristol Sound” took off—and he was the one who set Massive Attack in motion.

3. 15 years of waiting and their third time in Argentina

Their first time on Argentine soil was in May 2004 at the BUE Festival (Buenos Aires Urbano Electrónico) at Club Ciudad de Buenos Aires.
They returned for the second—and last—time in 2010 to play at the Hot Festival at Costanera Sur. Since then, nothing. That’s why this comeback feels like redemption.

4. They’ve collaborated with half the planet

Tricky, Elizabeth Fraser, Björk, Damon Albarn… the list goes on. Massive Attack has always known how to choose voices that fit perfectly into their intense, atmospheric universe.

5. They’re part of The Matrix (even if uncredited)

“Dissolved Girl” plays in the scene where Neo wakes up late in his apartment, just before Trinity contacts him on the computer and the white rabbit adventure begins. It didn’t make it into the official soundtrack, but that dark, electronic atmosphere was immortalized and became part of the film’s pop identity.

6. Their shows are a visual punch

For this return, they’re bringing an immersive setup with United Visual Artists (UVA), the studio that’s been with them since 2003. Their shows go far beyond aesthetics: LED screens, live data, and messages about fake news, algorithms, and global politics. It’s not just a concert—it’s a manifesto.

7. From Teatro Colón to trip hop

In 2018, Hernán Cattáneo reimagined “Unfinished Sympathy” in symphonic form with 50 musicians at Teatro Colón. Four sold-out shows proved that Massive Attack’s music transcends genres and formats.

8. The original band dissolved over the years

When Massive Attack was born in 1988, there were four: Robert “3D” Del Naja, Grant “Daddy G” Marshall, Andrew “Mushroom” Vowles, and Adrian “Tricky” Thaws. Over time, creative tensions led Mushroom to quit after Mezzanine (1998), while Tricky launched a solo career with his raw, personal debut Maxinquaye (1995). Today, Massive Attack’s heartbeat remains in the hands of 3D and Daddy G, the collective’s core pillars.

9. “Unfinished Sympathy” was groundbreaking

Critics hailed the single as one of the greatest British songs of all time. In 1998, Q Magazine ranked it 63rd in its “100 Greatest Songs of the Century.” Its music video, filmed in a single take on the streets of Los Angeles, is another gem.

10. Robert Del Naja and the Banksy theory

For years, rumors have circulated that Robert “3D” Del Naja might actually be Banksy—or at least part of his collective. It’s never been confirmed, but the idea that Massive Attack’s frontman could also be the world’s most famous street artist only adds to the myth.

Music Wins Festival 2025: Everything You Need to Know

When: Sunday, November 2, 2025, at 2:00 PM

Where: Mandarine Park, Costanera Norte & Sarmiento, Buenos Aires

Headliners: Massive Attack and Primal Scream (returning after 7 years).

Also on the lineup, top-tier international acts:

• Tash Sultana (soul, reggae, live looping, psychedelia)

• L’Impératrice (chic, danceable synth-pop)

• The Whitest Boy Alive (indie pop with Scandinavian funk)

• Yo La Tengo (lo-fi with endless textures)

• Fcukers (emerging New York electronic act)

Local artists will be added to the lineup in the coming days—stay tuned.

Where to buy tickets for Music Wins Festival: venti.com.ar/eventos